Social Influence Phenomena

Conformity is a social influence phenomenon where individuals tend to adopt the attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of a group, aligning themselves with group norms. The bystander effect is another social influence phenomenon where individuals fail to offer help to a victim when others are present. The likelihood of help decreases as the number of bystanders increases. Groupthink occurs when a group makes poor decisions due to group pressures that lead to a decline in mental efficiency, reality testing, and moral judgment. Polarization is the tendency for a group to make decisions that are more extreme than the initial inclinations of its members. Deindividuation is the loss of self-awareness in groups, often leading to violent acts in situations such as football hooliganism.

Social Class Determination and the Registrar General’s Classification System

The Registrar General’s classification system, which was implemented in 1911, has been a useful tool in categorizing population groups. However, it can pose challenges when classifying individuals who are unemployed, part-time workers, of retirees.

Traditionally, social class has been determined by occupation, with professionals, landowners, and higher managerial positions falling under Class I. Class II includes intermediate occupations, while skilled workers are classified under Class III. Semi-skilled workers are categorized under Class IV, and unskilled workers fall under Class V.

However, students and retirees do not fit neatly into this classification system. They are often excluded from the traditional social class structure and are instead given their own category. This highlights the limitations of the Registrar General’s classification system and the need for more inclusive and comprehensive methods of categorizing population groups.

Classical Conditioning: A Learning Theory by Ivan Pavlov

Classical conditioning is a learning theory developed by Ivan Pavlov. It suggests that events that occur together are associated and acquire a similar meaning. Unlike operant conditioning, which focuses on responses to behavior, classical conditioning looks at responses to stimuli. In classical conditioning, animals behave as if they have learned to associate a stimulus with a significant event. Pavlov demonstrated that innate responses, such as a dog salivating when it sees food, can be associated with a neutral stimulus, such as ringing a bell, so that ringing the bell can cause salivation even in the absence of food.

Important terms used in classical conditioning include stimulus generalization and discrimination, higher order conditioning, spontaneous recovery, and aversive conditioning. Extinction is the laboratory analogue of exposure therapy for anxiety disorders, while Counterconditioning involves pairing a feared conditioned stimulus with a positive outcome. Incubation occurs in fear responses, and reciprocal inhibition is a technique that aims to replace an undesired response with a desired one by counterconditioning. Some stimuli are more prone to conditioning than others, which is referred to as stimulus/biological preparedness.

Personality Testing

There are two main types of personality tests: projective and objective. Projective tests aim to assess unconscious material by presenting subjects with ambiguous pictures of phrases to elicit an unconscious response. Examples of projective tests include the Rorschach Inkblot, Thematic Apperception Test, Draw-A-Person test, and sentence completion tests. On the other hand, objective tests have structured and clear questions and aims. Examples of objective tests include the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF), NEO Personality Inventory, and Eysenck Personality Test (EPQ).

Selective attention involves filtering external stimuli and assigning meaning to things that should get our attention. Three main models have been proposed: Broadbent’s Filter model, Treisman’s Attenuation Theory, and Deutsch and Deutsch’s Late stage model. Broadbent’s model is an early selection model that filters input based on physical characteristics, while Treisman’s model is an intermediate selection model that uses a leaky filter to weaken some stimuli but allow them through. Deutsch and Deutsch’s model is a late selection model that analyzes input for meaning before filtering occurs. Treisman’s model includes a dictionary unit that emphasizes certain words have lower thresholds for getting our attention, such as our own name.

She has maintained her home culture and not assimilated into the dominant culture, which is known as separation.

Multiculturalism is the coexistence of various cultural of ethnic groups within a shared social and political framework. Acculturation is the process of cultural and psychological change that occurs when different cultural groups come into contact with each other. Canadian psychologist John Berry identified four paths to acculturation: assimilation, integration, separation, and marginalization. Assimilation involves giving up one’s home culture and adopting the dominant culture, while integration involves maintaining one’s home culture while also embracing the dominant culture. Separation involves maintaining one’s home culture while being isolated from the dominant culture, and marginalization involves giving up one’s home culture and failing to related properly to the dominant culture. There is a cultural debate regarding assimilation and multiculturalism, with two forms of assimilation recognized: total assimilation, which involves the obliteration of the non-dominant culture, and melting pot assimilation, which refers to a less extreme version where a new form of the dominant culture emerges. Laissez-faire multiculturalism refers to multiculturalism that occurs without planning, such as the existence of Chinatowns in most cities.

Classical Conditioning: A Learning Theory by Ivan Pavlov

Classical conditioning is a learning theory developed by Ivan Pavlov. It suggests that events that occur together are associated and acquire a similar meaning. Unlike operant conditioning, which focuses on responses to behavior, classical conditioning looks at responses to stimuli. In classical conditioning, animals behave as if they have learned to associate a stimulus with a significant event. Pavlov demonstrated that innate responses, such as a dog salivating when it sees food, can be associated with a neutral stimulus, such as ringing a bell, so that ringing the bell can cause salivation even in the absence of food.

Important terms used in classical conditioning include stimulus generalization and discrimination, higher order conditioning, spontaneous recovery, and aversive conditioning. Extinction is the laboratory analogue of exposure therapy for anxiety disorders, while Counterconditioning involves pairing a feared conditioned stimulus with a positive outcome. Incubation occurs in fear responses, and reciprocal inhibition is a technique that aims to replace an undesired response with a desired one by counterconditioning. Some stimuli are more prone to conditioning than others, which is referred to as stimulus/biological preparedness.

Memory Forms

Memory is the ability to store, retain, and retrieve information. There are different forms of memory, including sensory memory, short-term/working memory, and long-term memory.

Sensory memory is the capacity for briefly retaining the large amounts of information that people encounter daily. It includes echoic memory (gathered through auditory stimuli), iconic memory (gathered through sight), and haptic memory (acquired through touch).

Short-term memory is the ability to keep a small amount of information available for a short period of time. Atkinson and Shiffrin’s multistore model (1968) suggests the existence of a short-term storehouse with limited capacity. Baddeley and Hitch (1974) further developed the concept of short-term memory, which eventually became known as Baddeley’s multi-storehouse model (2000). This model includes the central executive, visuospatial sketchpad, phonological buffer/loop, and episodic buffer.

Long-term memory includes declarative (of explicit) memories, which can be consciously retrieved, and nondeclarative (of implicit) memories, which cannot. Declarative memory includes episodic memory (stores personal experiences) and semantic memory (stores information about facts and concepts). Non-declarative memory includes procedural memory (recalls motor and executive skills), associative memory (storage and retrieval of information through association with other information), and non-associative memory (refers to newly learned behavior through repeated exposure to an isolated stimulus).

Overall, memory is a complex and essential cognitive function that plays a crucial role in learning, reasoning, and understanding.

Neo-Freudians were therapists who developed their own theories while still retaining core Freudian components. Some important neo-Freudians include Alfred Adler, Carl Jung, Erik Erickson, Harry Stack Sullivan, Wilfred Bion, John Bowlby, Anna Freud, Otto Kernberg, Margaret Mahler, and Donald Winnicott. Each of these individuals contributed unique ideas to the field of psychology. For example, Carl Jung introduced the concept of the persona and differentiated between the personal and collective unconscious, while Erik Erickson is known for his stages of psychosocial development. Margaret Mahler developed theories on child development, including the three main phases of autistic, symbiotic, and separation-individuation. Donald Winnicott introduced the concept of the transitional object and the good enough mother. Overall, neo-Freudians expanded upon Freud’s ideas and helped to shape modern psychotherapy.

Classical Conditioning: A Learning Theory by Ivan Pavlov

Classical conditioning is a learning theory developed by Ivan Pavlov. It suggests that events that occur together are associated and acquire a similar meaning. Unlike operant conditioning, which focuses on responses to behavior, classical conditioning looks at responses to stimuli. In classical conditioning, animals behave as if they have learned to associate a stimulus with a significant event. Pavlov demonstrated that innate responses, such as a dog salivating when it sees food, can be associated with a neutral stimulus, such as ringing a bell, so that ringing the bell can cause salivation even in the absence of food.

Important terms used in classical conditioning include stimulus generalization and discrimination, higher order conditioning, spontaneous recovery, and aversive conditioning. Extinction is the laboratory analogue of exposure therapy for anxiety disorders, while Counterconditioning involves pairing a feared conditioned stimulus with a positive outcome. Incubation occurs in fear responses, and reciprocal inhibition is a technique that aims to replace an undesired response with a desired one by counterconditioning. Some stimuli are more prone to conditioning than others, which is referred to as stimulus/biological preparedness.

The preoperational stage, according to Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, is characterized by children engaging in symbolic play but not yet being able to comprehend logic. Piaget identified four main stages of cognitive development: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational. The sensorimotor stage occurs from birth to two years old, during which the child experiences the world through their senses. The concrete operational stage occurs from seven to eleven years old, during which the child can think logically and is no longer egocentric. The formal operational stage occurs from eleven to sixteen years old, during which the child develops abstract reasoning. It is important to note that the Freudian stage of psychosexual development known as latency is not relevant to Piaget’s theory and is therefore not included in his stages of cognitive development.

While quality adjusted life years (QALY) are a utilitarian measure, it would be extreme to suggest that individuals with illnesses that require expensive treatments should not be treated solely based on the cost-benefit analysis. The general population does not strictly adhere to utilitarian principles, and therefore, The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) considers other factors such as justice and the availability of alternative treatments for a particular condition in addition to the cost per QALY when making recommendations.

The doctor’s decision is grounded in the moral righteousness of the act, rather than its consequences, and is therefore based on the principles of deontology, specifically the ‘categorical imperative’.

Ethical theory and principles are important in medical ethics. There are three key ethical theories that have dominated medical ethics: utilitarianism, deontological, and virtue-based. Utilitarianism is based on the greatest good for the greatest number and is a consequentialist theory. Deontological ethics emphasize moral duties and rules, rather than consequences. Virtue ethics is based on the ethical characteristics of a person and is associated with the concept of a good, happy, flourishing life.

More recent frameworks have attempted to reconcile different theories and values. The ‘four principles’ of ‘principlism’ approach, developed in the United States, is based on four common, basic prima facie moral commitments: autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice. Autonomy refers to a patient’s right to make their own decisions, beneficence refers to the expectation that a doctor will act in a way that will be helpful to the patient, non-maleficence refers to the fact that doctors should avoid harming their patients, and justice refers to the expectation that all people should be treated fairly and equally.

The Catharsis Hypothesis and Its Effectiveness in Reducing Aggressive Feelings

The catharsis hypothesis proposes that individuals can release their feelings of frustration and aggression through indirect means, such as engaging in aggressive activities like boxing of venting their emotions through talking. However, there is ongoing debate regarding the effectiveness of these methods in reducing aggressive feelings over the long term.

Some individuals believe that engaging in physical activities like boxing can help release pent-up aggression and reduce the likelihood of future aggressive behavior. Others argue that this approach may actually reinforce aggressive tendencies and lead to an increase in violent behavior.

Similarly, some individuals believe that venting one’s emotions through talking can be an effective way to reduce feelings of frustration and aggression. However, others argue that this approach may actually intensify negative emotions and lead to further aggression.

Overall, the effectiveness of the catharsis hypothesis in reducing aggressive feelings remains a topic of debate. While some individuals may find these methods helpful in managing their emotions, others may require alternative approaches to address their aggressive tendencies.

Operant Conditioning: Reinforcement, Punishment, and More

Operant conditioning, also known as instrumental learning, is a theory of learning developed by B.F. Skinner. It suggests that people learn by interacting with their environment. Reinforcement and punishment are key concepts in operant conditioning. A reinforcer is a stimulus of event that increases the likelihood of a behavior being repeated. Reinforcement can be positive of negative. Positive reinforcement occurs when a behavior is strengthened by adding a rewarding stimulus, while negative reinforcement occurs when a behavior is strengthened by removing an unpleasant stimulus. A punisher is a stimulus that decreases the likelihood of a behavior being repeated. Positive punishment occurs when a behavior is reduced in frequency by adding an unpleasant stimulus, while negative punishment occurs when a behavior is reduced in frequency by removing a pleasant stimulus.

Primary reinforcers are instinctual desires such as food, water, social approval, and sex. Secondary reinforcers, also known as conditioned reinforcers, are not innately appreciated and people have to learn to like them through classical conditioning of other methods. Secondary reinforcers include things such as money. Different patterns of reinforcement have different influences on the response. There are five main reinforcement schedules: fixed interval, variable interval, fixed ratio, variable ratio, and random. Variable ratio schedules are most resistant to extinction.

Shaping and chaining are techniques used when an exact behavior cannot be performed and so cannot be rewarded. Shaping involves rewarding successive, increasingly accurate approximations to the behavior, while chaining involves breaking a complex task into smaller, more manageable sections. Escape conditioning refers to a situation whereby an aversive situation is removed after a response. It is a form of negative reinforcement. Habituation refers to the phenomenon whereby there is a decrease in response to a stimulus over time. Covert sensitization is a technique used whereby someone learns to use mental imagery to associate a behavior with a negative consequence.

Teleology, derived from the Greek words for goal and theory, is a moral philosophy that emphasizes the outcomes of actions as the initial consideration in evaluating ethical behavior. This category of theories is also known as consequentialism, as it focuses on the consequences of an action as the basis for determining its morality. Consequentialism evaluates the morality of an action based on the balance of its positive and negative outcomes. Utilitarianism of social consequentialism is the most prevalent form of consequentialism, although it is not the only one.

Ethical theory and principles are important in medical ethics. There are three key ethical theories that have dominated medical ethics: utilitarianism, deontological, and virtue-based. Utilitarianism is based on the greatest good for the greatest number and is a consequentialist theory. Deontological ethics emphasize moral duties and rules, rather than consequences. Virtue ethics is based on the ethical characteristics of a person and is associated with the concept of a good, happy, flourishing life.

More recent frameworks have attempted to reconcile different theories and values. The ‘four principles’ of ‘principlism’ approach, developed in the United States, is based on four common, basic prima facie moral commitments: autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice. Autonomy refers to a patient’s right to make their own decisions, beneficence refers to the expectation that a doctor will act in a way that will be helpful to the patient, non-maleficence refers to the fact that doctors should avoid harming their patients, and justice refers to the expectation that all people should be treated fairly and equally.

Flashbulb Memory

Flashbulb memories are vivid and detailed recollections of the circumstances surrounding a significant event. These memories are typically episodic, meaning they are focused on the specific details of the event rather than just the facts. One example of a flashbulb memory might be recalling where you were and what you were doing when you first heard about the death of Princess Diana in 1997. What sets flashbulb memories apart from other types of memories is the high level of emotional arousal that accompanies them. This emotional intensity helps to cement the memory in the mind, making it more vivid and long-lasting.

Memory Forms

Memory is the ability to store, retain, and retrieve information. There are different forms of memory, including sensory memory, short-term/working memory, and long-term memory.

Sensory memory is the capacity for briefly retaining the large amounts of information that people encounter daily. It includes echoic memory (gathered through auditory stimuli), iconic memory (gathered through sight), and haptic memory (acquired through touch).

Short-term memory is the ability to keep a small amount of information available for a short period of time. Atkinson and Shiffrin’s multistore model (1968) suggests the existence of a short-term storehouse with limited capacity. Baddeley and Hitch (1974) further developed the concept of short-term memory, which eventually became known as Baddeley’s multi-storehouse model (2000). This model includes the central executive, visuospatial sketchpad, phonological buffer/loop, and episodic buffer.

Long-term memory includes declarative (of explicit) memories, which can be consciously retrieved, and nondeclarative (of implicit) memories, which cannot. Declarative memory includes episodic memory (stores personal experiences) and semantic memory (stores information about facts and concepts). Non-declarative memory includes procedural memory (recalls motor and executive skills), associative memory (storage and retrieval of information through association with other information), and non-associative memory (refers to newly learned behavior through repeated exposure to an isolated stimulus).

Overall, memory is a complex and essential cognitive function that plays a crucial role in learning, reasoning, and understanding.

The boy seems to have disavowed his native culture and has not assimilated into the prevailing culture (as evidenced by his refusal to pursue education and interact with local peers). The concept of ‘biculturalism’ refers to the coexistence of two separate cultures.

Multiculturalism is the coexistence of various cultural of ethnic groups within a shared social and political framework. Acculturation is the process of cultural and psychological change that occurs when different cultural groups come into contact with each other. Canadian psychologist John Berry identified four paths to acculturation: assimilation, integration, separation, and marginalization. Assimilation involves giving up one’s home culture and adopting the dominant culture, while integration involves maintaining one’s home culture while also embracing the dominant culture. Separation involves maintaining one’s home culture while being isolated from the dominant culture, and marginalization involves giving up one’s home culture and failing to related properly to the dominant culture. There is a cultural debate regarding assimilation and multiculturalism, with two forms of assimilation recognized: total assimilation, which involves the obliteration of the non-dominant culture, and melting pot assimilation, which refers to a less extreme version where a new form of the dominant culture emerges. Laissez-faire multiculturalism refers to multiculturalism that occurs without planning, such as the existence of Chinatowns in most cities.

Ribot’s Law and Jost’s Law: Understanding Memory Consolidation and Forgetting

Ribot’s Law, also known as the law of retrograde amnesia, suggests that recent memories are more likely to be lost than older ones. This implies that memories need time to consolidate and become more resistant to forgetting. Ribot observed that people who experience traumatic events often lose memories leading up to the event, but older memories are preserved. This pattern is also observed in patients with Alzheimer’s disease, where the saying goes, you lose first what you learn last.

Jost’s Law of forgetting complements Ribot’s Law by stating that if two memories are of the same strength but different ages, the older memory will decay more slowly than the younger one. Together, these laws suggest that memory consolidation is a gradual process that takes time, and once memories are consolidated, they become more resistant to forgetting. Understanding these laws can help us better understand how memories are formed, retained, and lost over time.

Psychology Experiments and Theories

Asch conducted experiments on conformity, where participants tended to agree with group estimates even when they were clearly wrong. Heider introduced attribution theory and the fundamental attribution error. Milgram studied obedience by instructing participants to administer electric shocks to actors who were struggling in a learning task. Janis described groupthink, which is the tendency to pursue consensus in group decisions. On a different note, James Osterberg, who is more commonly known as Iggy Pop, performed with the rock band The Stooges.

B.F. Skinner, a prominent figure in the field of psychology, is renowned for his contributions to the theory of reinforcement within the behaviourist perspective.

Neo-Freudians were therapists who developed their own theories while still retaining core Freudian components. Some important neo-Freudians include Alfred Adler, Carl Jung, Erik Erickson, Harry Stack Sullivan, Wilfred Bion, John Bowlby, Anna Freud, Otto Kernberg, Margaret Mahler, and Donald Winnicott. Each of these individuals contributed unique ideas to the field of psychology. For example, Carl Jung introduced the concept of the persona and differentiated between the personal and collective unconscious, while Erik Erickson is known for his stages of psychosocial development. Margaret Mahler developed theories on child development, including the three main phases of autistic, symbiotic, and separation-individuation. Donald Winnicott introduced the concept of the transitional object and the good enough mother. Overall, neo-Freudians expanded upon Freud’s ideas and helped to shape modern psychotherapy.

History of Psychiatric Terms

In the exams, it is important to be familiar with the individuals associated with certain psychiatric terms. For example, Kraepelin is associated with dementia praecox and manic depression, while Bleuler is associated with schizophrenia. Other terms and their associated individuals include Hebephrenia (Hecker), Catatonia (Kahlbaum), Schizoaffective (Kasanin), Neurasthenia (Beard), Unipolar and bipolar (Kleist), Hypnosis (Braid), Group dynamics (Lewin), Group psychotherapy (Moreno), Psychopathic inferiority (Koch), Psychiatry (Reil), and Institutional Neurosis (Barton).

It should be noted that there is some debate over the origins of certain terms. While Kraepelin is often credited with coining the term dementia praecox, some sources suggest that it was first used in its Latin form by Arnold Pick in 1891. The original term demence precoce was first used by Morel in 1852. Despite this, the College appears to favor the Kraepelin attribution.

The Sick Role and Illness Behavior

Mechanic and Volkart (1961) introduced the term illness behavior to describe how individuals perceive, evaluate, and respond to symptoms of physical dysfunction. Meanwhile, Talcott Parsons (1951) introduced the concept of the sick role as a temporary form of deviant behavior that is medically sanctioned.

According to Parsons, a sick person experiences conflicting desires to recover from the illness and to enjoy the secondary gains of attention and exemption from normal duties. The sick role is characterized by several rules, including the exemption of the sick person from their normal social roles, which is legitimized by society through the physician. The severity of the illness determines the strength of the exemption.

Additionally, sick persons are not held responsible for their illnesses, as they are beyond personal control. However, they have a duty to try to get well, as sickness is considered undesirable by society. Seeking competent technical help and cooperating with caregivers are also expected of sick persons.

In summary, the sick role and illness behavior are important concepts in understanding how individuals respond to physical dysfunction and how society legitimizes and responds to illness.

Understanding Grief: Normal and Abnormal Phases

Grief is a natural response to loss, and it is a complex process that can take different forms and durations. John Bowlby and Kubler-Ross have proposed models to describe the typical phases of grief, which can vary in intensity and duration for each individual. Bowlby’s model includes shock-numbness, yearning-searching, disorganization-despair, and reorganization, while Kubler-Ross’s model includes denial-dissociation-isolation, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

However, some people may experience abnormal grief, which can be categorized as inhibited, delayed, of chronic/prolonged. Inhibited grief refers to the absence of expected grief symptoms at any stage, while delayed grief involves avoiding painful symptoms within two weeks of loss. Chronic/prolonged grief is characterized by continued significant grief-related symptoms six months after loss.

It is important to distinguish between normal grief and major depression, as a high proportion of people may meet the criteria for major depression in the first year following bereavement. Some features that can help differentiate between the two include generalized guilt, thoughts of death unrelated to the deceased, feelings of worthlessness, psychomotor retardation, and prolonged functional impairment.

Overall, understanding the phases and types of grief can help individuals and their loved ones navigate the grieving process and seek appropriate support and resources.

Social Status and Psychiatric Disorders

Research has shown that certain psychiatric disorders are more prevalent in lower social classes. These disorders include schizophrenia, personality disorder, alcohol dependence, and major depression. On the other hand, anorexia nervosa has been found to be more common in higher social classes. These findings suggest a relationship between social status and mental health, with individuals from lower social classes being at a higher risk for certain psychiatric disorders. This information can be useful in developing targeted interventions and support for individuals from lower social classes who may be struggling with mental health issues.

Theories of aggression can be categorized into three main perspectives: psychodynamic, sociological/drive, and cognitive and learning. Psychodynamic theory, proposed by Freud, suggests that aggression arises from a primary instinct called thanatos, which aims for destruction and death. Sociobiological/drive theory, proposed by Lorenz, suggests that aggression is instinctual and necessary for survival, and that stronger genes are selected through aggression. Cognitive and learning theory, proposed by Berkowitz, Rotter, Bandura, and Anderson, suggests that aggression can be learned through observational learning and is influenced by environmental factors. Bandura’s work introduced the concept of reciprocal determinism, which suggests that behavior is influenced by both the environment and the individual’s behavior. Rotter’s social learning theory emphasizes the interaction between the individual and their environment, while Anderson and Bushman’s general aggression model considers the role of social, cognitive, developmental, and biological factors on aggression.

Controversial studies in psychiatry have been a popular topic in exams. One such study was the Willowbrook School Study, where healthy children with learning difficulties were inoculated with hepatitis to assess the potential of gamma globulin to treat the disorder. Beecher’s study listed over 20 cases of mainstream research where subjects were experimented on without being fully informed of the risks. The Tuskegee syphilis experiment followed impoverished African-American sharecroppers with syphilis, and a significant proportion did not receive available treatment. Stanford’s prison experiment created a simulated prison environment where participants became their assigned roles, with guards becoming harsh and cruel to prisoners. The Tearooms Study involved Humphreys pretending to be a ‘watch queen’ to study men who have sex in public toilets, raising the issue of informed consent. Milgram’s Study investigated authority and obedience, where participants administered fake shocks to a confederate, with 30 participants continuing to administer shocks until 450 volts was reached. The Rosenhan experiment involved pseudopatients presenting themselves at institutions with the same symptoms and being admitted and diagnosed with serious mental disorders, leading to deinstitutionalisation.

Memory Forms

Memory is the ability to store, retain, and retrieve information. There are different forms of memory, including sensory memory, short-term/working memory, and long-term memory.

Sensory memory is the capacity for briefly retaining the large amounts of information that people encounter daily. It includes echoic memory (gathered through auditory stimuli), iconic memory (gathered through sight), and haptic memory (acquired through touch).

Short-term memory is the ability to keep a small amount of information available for a short period of time. Atkinson and Shiffrin’s multistore model (1968) suggests the existence of a short-term storehouse with limited capacity. Baddeley and Hitch (1974) further developed the concept of short-term memory, which eventually became known as Baddeley’s multi-storehouse model (2000). This model includes the central executive, visuospatial sketchpad, phonological buffer/loop, and episodic buffer.

Long-term memory includes declarative (of explicit) memories, which can be consciously retrieved, and nondeclarative (of implicit) memories, which cannot. Declarative memory includes episodic memory (stores personal experiences) and semantic memory (stores information about facts and concepts). Non-declarative memory includes procedural memory (recalls motor and executive skills), associative memory (storage and retrieval of information through association with other information), and non-associative memory (refers to newly learned behavior through repeated exposure to an isolated stimulus).

Overall, memory is a complex and essential cognitive function that plays a crucial role in learning, reasoning, and understanding.

The fundamental attribution error pertains to our tendency to make biased judgments about the behavior of others, rather than our own.

Attribution Theory: Understanding How We Explain Events

Attribution theory provides a framework for understanding how individuals explain events in their environment. It examines how people use information to arrive at causal explanations for events and what factors influence their judgments. Fritz Heider first proposed a theory of attribution in 1958.

However, attribution is prone to biases such as the Fundamental Attribution Error (FAE), which overemphasizes dispositional factors over situational causes when making attributions about others’ behavior. The Actor-Observer Bias, on the other hand, undervalues dispositional explanations and overvalued situational explanations of our own behavior. Correspondence bias is the tendency to draw inferences about a person’s unique and enduring dispositions from behaviors that can be entirely explained by the situations in which they occur. Self-serving bias refers to people’s tendency to attribute their successes to internal factors but attribute their failures to external factors. Hostile Attribution Bias (HAB) is an interpretive bias where individuals interpret ambiguous behavior as hostile, leading to aggression. Finally, the False Consensus Effect is the tendency for people to project their way of thinking onto others, assuming that everyone else thinks the same way they do.

Overall, attribution theory helps us understand how people make sense of events in their environment, but it is important to be aware of the biases that can influence our judgments.

Holmes Rahe Stress Scale (Social Readjustment Rating Scale)

In 1967, Holmes and Rahe conducted a study on the impact of stress on illness. They surveyed over 5,000 medical patients and asked them to report whether they had experienced any of 43 life events in the past two years. Each event was assigned a Life Change Unit (LCU) value, which represented its weight for stress. The higher the score, the more likely the patient was to become ill.

The first 10 life events and their corresponding LCU values are listed below.

1. Death of spouse – 100
2. Divorce – 73
3. Marital separation – 65
4. Jail term – 63
5. Death of a close family member – 63
6. Personal illness – 53
7. Marriage – 50
8. Being fired from work – 47
9. Marital reconciliation – 45
10. Retirement – 45

This scale is known as the Holmes Rahe Stress Scale of the Social Readjustment Rating Scale. It is still widely used today to assess the impact of life events on stress levels and overall health.

Cognitive Dissonance is a term used to describe the uncomfortable feeling that arises when there is a conflict between an individual’s attitudes, beliefs, of behaviors. This feeling can lead to a change in behavior of beliefs. The theory of cognitive dissonance suggests that people have an inner drive to maintain cognitive consistency and avoid dissonance. This drive can result in irrational of maladaptive behaviors. Dissonance can be reduced by changing attitudes, behaviors, of beliefs, acquiring new information, of reducing the importance of the cognitions. Overall, cognitive dissonance plays a significant role in shaping human behavior and decision-making.

According to Gelder (2009), semantic memory pertains to knowledge of facts and concepts that can be consciously recalled. Unlike episodic memory, which is also a type of declarative memory, semantic memory is not tied to any particular personal experience.

Memory Forms

Memory is the ability to store, retain, and retrieve information. There are different forms of memory, including sensory memory, short-term/working memory, and long-term memory.

Sensory memory is the capacity for briefly retaining the large amounts of information that people encounter daily. It includes echoic memory (gathered through auditory stimuli), iconic memory (gathered through sight), and haptic memory (acquired through touch).

Short-term memory is the ability to keep a small amount of information available for a short period of time. Atkinson and Shiffrin’s multistore model (1968) suggests the existence of a short-term storehouse with limited capacity. Baddeley and Hitch (1974) further developed the concept of short-term memory, which eventually became known as Baddeley’s multi-storehouse model (2000). This model includes the central executive, visuospatial sketchpad, phonological buffer/loop, and episodic buffer.

Long-term memory includes declarative (of explicit) memories, which can be consciously retrieved, and nondeclarative (of implicit) memories, which cannot. Declarative memory includes episodic memory (stores personal experiences) and semantic memory (stores information about facts and concepts). Non-declarative memory includes procedural memory (recalls motor and executive skills), associative memory (storage and retrieval of information through association with other information), and non-associative memory (refers to newly learned behavior through repeated exposure to an isolated stimulus).

Overall, memory is a complex and essential cognitive function that plays a crucial role in learning, reasoning, and understanding.

Trait Theory: Understanding Personality Traits

Trait theory is a psychological approach that seeks to understand personality by identifying and categorizing specific traits. The theory was first introduced by Gordon Allport, who classified personality traits into three levels.

At the highest level, we have cardinal traits. These are traits that are so pervasive that they dominate a person’s behavior and activities. Only a few people possess cardinal traits, but for those who do, these traits are the ruling force of their personality. Cardinal traits are usually evident to most people who know the individual.

The second level of traits is central traits. These are easily detected characteristics within a person, traits that all people have a certain number of, usually around five to ten on average. Central traits are the building blocks of personality and help to define a person’s overall character.

Finally, we have secondary traits. These are less evident and only manifest in select circumstances. They are not as important as central of cardinal traits, but they still play a role in shaping a person’s behavior and personality.

Overall, trait theory provides a useful framework for understanding personality and how it develops over time. By identifying and categorizing specific traits, psychologists can gain insights into why people behave the way they do and how they can change their behavior to achieve their goals.

Operant Conditioning: Reinforcement, Punishment, and More

Operant conditioning, also known as instrumental learning, is a theory of learning developed by B.F. Skinner. It suggests that people learn by interacting with their environment. Reinforcement and punishment are key concepts in operant conditioning. A reinforcer is a stimulus of event that increases the likelihood of a behavior being repeated. Reinforcement can be positive of negative. Positive reinforcement occurs when a behavior is strengthened by adding a rewarding stimulus, while negative reinforcement occurs when a behavior is strengthened by removing an unpleasant stimulus. A punisher is a stimulus that decreases the likelihood of a behavior being repeated. Positive punishment occurs when a behavior is reduced in frequency by adding an unpleasant stimulus, while negative punishment occurs when a behavior is reduced in frequency by removing a pleasant stimulus.

Primary reinforcers are instinctual desires such as food, water, social approval, and sex. Secondary reinforcers, also known as conditioned reinforcers, are not innately appreciated and people have to learn to like them through classical conditioning of other methods. Secondary reinforcers include things such as money. Different patterns of reinforcement have different influences on the response. There are five main reinforcement schedules: fixed interval, variable interval, fixed ratio, variable ratio, and random. Variable ratio schedules are most resistant to extinction.

Shaping and chaining are techniques used when an exact behavior cannot be performed and so cannot be rewarded. Shaping involves rewarding successive, increasingly accurate approximations to the behavior, while chaining involves breaking a complex task into smaller, more manageable sections. Escape conditioning refers to a situation whereby an aversive situation is removed after a response. It is a form of negative reinforcement. Habituation refers to the phenomenon whereby there is a decrease in response to a stimulus over time. Covert sensitization is a technique used whereby someone learns to use mental imagery to associate a behavior with a negative consequence.

The Thematic Apperception Test is a personality test that falls under the category of projective tests, which involve describing rather than measuring a specific aspect.

Personality Testing

There are two main types of personality tests: projective and objective. Projective tests aim to assess unconscious material by presenting subjects with ambiguous pictures of phrases to elicit an unconscious response. Examples of projective tests include the Rorschach Inkblot, Thematic Apperception Test, Draw-A-Person test, and sentence completion tests. On the other hand, objective tests have structured and clear questions and aims. Examples of objective tests include the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF), NEO Personality Inventory, and Eysenck Personality Test (EPQ).

Understanding Behavioural Activation Therapy for Depression

Behavioural activation therapy is a formal treatment for depression that emphasizes activity scheduling to encourage patients to approach activities they are avoiding. Unlike traditional cognitive therapy, it involves less cognitive therapy and is easier to train staff in its use. The therapy was introduced by Martell in 2001 and has two primary focuses: the use of avoided activities as a guide for activity scheduling and functional analysis of cognitive processes that involve avoidance.

Behavioural activation theory suggests that when people become depressed, many of their activities function as avoidance and escape from aversive thoughts, feelings, of external situations. As a result, someone with depression engages less frequently in pleasant of satisfying activities and obtains less positive reinforcement than someone without depression. To address this, the patient is encouraged to identify activities and problems that they avoid and to establish valued directions to be followed. These are set out on planned timetables (activity schedules).

In behavioural activation therapy, therapists do not engage in the content of the patient’s thinking. Instead, they use functional analysis to focus on the context and process of the individual’s response. The most common cognitive responses are rumination, fusion, and self-attack. A typical session has a structured agenda to review homework and progress towards goals, discuss feedback on the previous session, and focus on one of two specific issues. The number of sessions required to treat depression is typically between 12 and 24.

Controversial studies in psychiatry have been a popular topic in exams. One such study was the Willowbrook School Study, where healthy children with learning difficulties were inoculated with hepatitis to assess the potential of gamma globulin to treat the disorder. Beecher’s study listed over 20 cases of mainstream research where subjects were experimented on without being fully informed of the risks. The Tuskegee syphilis experiment followed impoverished African-American sharecroppers with syphilis, and a significant proportion did not receive available treatment. Stanford’s prison experiment created a simulated prison environment where participants became their assigned roles, with guards becoming harsh and cruel to prisoners. The Tearooms Study involved Humphreys pretending to be a ‘watch queen’ to study men who have sex in public toilets, raising the issue of informed consent. Milgram’s Study investigated authority and obedience, where participants administered fake shocks to a confederate, with 30 participants continuing to administer shocks until 450 volts was reached. The Rosenhan experiment involved pseudopatients presenting themselves at institutions with the same symptoms and being admitted and diagnosed with serious mental disorders, leading to deinstitutionalisation.

Melanie Klein, a prominent psychoanalyst, introduced two significant concepts in her work: the paranoid-schizoid position and the depressive position. The paranoid-schizoid position is a state of mind where the individual perceives the world as fragmented, dividing it into good and bad. This position is characterized by the defense mechanism of splitting, where the individual separates the good and bad aspects of themselves and others.

On the other hand, the depressive position follows the paranoid-schizoid position and is characterized by the ability to accept ambivalence, where something can be both good and bad. This position represents a more integrated state of mind, where the individual can hold conflicting emotions and thoughts simultaneously. These concepts have been influential in psychoanalytic theory and have contributed to our understanding of the human psyche.

History of Psychiatric Terms

In the exams, it is important to be familiar with the individuals associated with certain psychiatric terms. For example, Kraepelin is associated with dementia praecox and manic depression, while Bleuler is associated with schizophrenia. Other terms and their associated individuals include Hebephrenia (Hecker), Catatonia (Kahlbaum), Schizoaffective (Kasanin), Neurasthenia (Beard), Unipolar and bipolar (Kleist), Hypnosis (Braid), Group dynamics (Lewin), Group psychotherapy (Moreno), Psychopathic inferiority (Koch), Psychiatry (Reil), and Institutional Neurosis (Barton).

It should be noted that there is some debate over the origins of certain terms. While Kraepelin is often credited with coining the term dementia praecox, some sources suggest that it was first used in its Latin form by Arnold Pick in 1891. The original term demence precoce was first used by Morel in 1852. Despite this, the College appears to favor the Kraepelin attribution.

Selective attention involves filtering external stimuli and assigning meaning to things that should get our attention. Three main models have been proposed: Broadbent’s Filter model, Treisman’s Attenuation Theory, and Deutsch and Deutsch’s Late stage model. Broadbent’s model is an early selection model that filters input based on physical characteristics, while Treisman’s model is an intermediate selection model that uses a leaky filter to weaken some stimuli but allow them through. Deutsch and Deutsch’s model is a late selection model that analyzes input for meaning before filtering occurs. Treisman’s model includes a dictionary unit that emphasizes certain words have lower thresholds for getting our attention, such as our own name.

Neo-Freudians were therapists who developed their own theories while still retaining core Freudian components. Some important neo-Freudians include Alfred Adler, Carl Jung, Erik Erickson, Harry Stack Sullivan, Wilfred Bion, John Bowlby, Anna Freud, Otto Kernberg, Margaret Mahler, and Donald Winnicott. Each of these individuals contributed unique ideas to the field of psychology. For example, Carl Jung introduced the concept of the persona and differentiated between the personal and collective unconscious, while Erik Erickson is known for his stages of psychosocial development. Margaret Mahler developed theories on child development, including the three main phases of autistic, symbiotic, and separation-individuation. Donald Winnicott introduced the concept of the transitional object and the good enough mother. Overall, neo-Freudians expanded upon Freud’s ideas and helped to shape modern psychotherapy.

Memory Forms

Memory is the ability to store, retain, and retrieve information. There are different forms of memory, including sensory memory, short-term/working memory, and long-term memory.

Sensory memory is the capacity for briefly retaining the large amounts of information that people encounter daily. It includes echoic memory (gathered through auditory stimuli), iconic memory (gathered through sight), and haptic memory (acquired through touch).

Short-term memory is the ability to keep a small amount of information available for a short period of time. Atkinson and Shiffrin’s multistore model (1968) suggests the existence of a short-term storehouse with limited capacity. Baddeley and Hitch (1974) further developed the concept of short-term memory, which eventually became known as Baddeley’s multi-storehouse model (2000). This model includes the central executive, visuospatial sketchpad, phonological buffer/loop, and episodic buffer.

Long-term memory includes declarative (of explicit) memories, which can be consciously retrieved, and nondeclarative (of implicit) memories, which cannot. Declarative memory includes episodic memory (stores personal experiences) and semantic memory (stores information about facts and concepts). Non-declarative memory includes procedural memory (recalls motor and executive skills), associative memory (storage and retrieval of information through association with other information), and non-associative memory (refers to newly learned behavior through repeated exposure to an isolated stimulus).

Overall, memory is a complex and essential cognitive function that plays a crucial role in learning, reasoning, and understanding.

Classical Conditioning: A Learning Theory by Ivan Pavlov

Classical conditioning is a learning theory developed by Ivan Pavlov. It suggests that events that occur together are associated and acquire a similar meaning. Unlike operant conditioning, which focuses on responses to behavior, classical conditioning looks at responses to stimuli. In classical conditioning, animals behave as if they have learned to associate a stimulus with a significant event. Pavlov demonstrated that innate responses, such as a dog salivating when it sees food, can be associated with a neutral stimulus, such as ringing a bell, so that ringing the bell can cause salivation even in the absence of food.

Important terms used in classical conditioning include stimulus generalization and discrimination, higher order conditioning, spontaneous recovery, and aversive conditioning. Extinction is the laboratory analogue of exposure therapy for anxiety disorders, while Counterconditioning involves pairing a feared conditioned stimulus with a positive outcome. Incubation occurs in fear responses, and reciprocal inhibition is a technique that aims to replace an undesired response with a desired one by counterconditioning. Some stimuli are more prone to conditioning than others, which is referred to as stimulus/biological preparedness.

Melanie Klein, a prominent psychoanalyst, introduced two significant concepts in her work: the paranoid-schizoid position and the depressive position. The paranoid-schizoid position is a state of mind where the individual perceives the world as fragmented, dividing it into good and bad. This position is characterized by the defense mechanism of splitting, where the individual separates the good and bad aspects of themselves and others.

On the other hand, the depressive position follows the paranoid-schizoid position and is characterized by the ability to accept ambivalence, where something can be both good and bad. This position represents a more integrated state of mind, where the individual can hold conflicting emotions and thoughts simultaneously. These concepts have been influential in psychoanalytic theory and have contributed to our understanding of the human psyche.

Classical Conditioning: A Learning Theory by Ivan Pavlov

Classical conditioning is a learning theory developed by Ivan Pavlov. It suggests that events that occur together are associated and acquire a similar meaning. Unlike operant conditioning, which focuses on responses to behavior, classical conditioning looks at responses to stimuli. In classical conditioning, animals behave as if they have learned to associate a stimulus with a significant event. Pavlov demonstrated that innate responses, such as a dog salivating when it sees food, can be associated with a neutral stimulus, such as ringing a bell, so that ringing the bell can cause salivation even in the absence of food.

Important terms used in classical conditioning include stimulus generalization and discrimination, higher order conditioning, spontaneous recovery, and aversive conditioning. Extinction is the laboratory analogue of exposure therapy for anxiety disorders, while Counterconditioning involves pairing a feared conditioned stimulus with a positive outcome. Incubation occurs in fear responses, and reciprocal inhibition is a technique that aims to replace an undesired response with a desired one by counterconditioning. Some stimuli are more prone to conditioning than others, which is referred to as stimulus/biological preparedness.

Theories of aggression can be categorized into three main perspectives: psychodynamic, sociological/drive, and cognitive and learning. Psychodynamic theory, proposed by Freud, suggests that aggression arises from a primary instinct called thanatos, which aims for destruction and death. Sociobiological/drive theory, proposed by Lorenz, suggests that aggression is instinctual and necessary for survival, and that stronger genes are selected through aggression. Cognitive and learning theory, proposed by Berkowitz, Rotter, Bandura, and Anderson, suggests that aggression can be learned through observational learning and is influenced by environmental factors. Bandura’s work introduced the concept of reciprocal determinism, which suggests that behavior is influenced by both the environment and the individual’s behavior. Rotter’s social learning theory emphasizes the interaction between the individual and their environment, while Anderson and Bushman’s general aggression model considers the role of social, cognitive, developmental, and biological factors on aggression.

Heuristics: Cognitive Shortcuts that can Lead to Diagnostic Errors

In the 1970s, Tversky and Kahneman proposed that humans use cognitive heuristics, of mental shortcuts, to simplify complex decision-making processes. However, these heuristics can also lead to systematic errors. One such heuristic is the representativeness bias, where individuals judge the likelihood of an event based on how closely it resembles a stereotype. For example, a person described as shy and detail-oriented may be more likely to be perceived as a librarian than a farmer.

Another heuristic is the availability bias, where individuals favor recent and readily available information over more accurate but less accessible information. This can lead to overestimating the frequency of certain events, such as violent crime. The anchoring-and-adjustment bias occurs when individuals lock onto salient features in a patient’s initial presentation and fail to adjust their impression in light of new information.

The framing effect is another bias where individuals react differently to a choice depending on how the information is presented. For example, a pharmaceutical company may present a drug as having a 95% cure rate, making it seem superior to a drug with a 2.5% failure rate. Base rate neglect occurs when individuals ignore underlying incident rates of population-based knowledge, leading to unnecessary testing of treatment.

Confirmation bias is a tendency to interpret information to fit preconceived diagnoses, rather than considering alternative explanations. The conjunction rule is the incorrect belief that the probability of multiple events being true is greater than a single event. Finally, diagnostic momentum occurs when clinicians continue a course of action initiated by previous clinicians without considering new information.

Overall, while heuristics can be useful in simplifying complex decision-making processes, they can also lead to diagnostic errors if not used appropriately. It is important for clinicians to be aware of these biases and actively work to avoid them in their practice.

Understanding Behavioural Activation Therapy for Depression

Behavioural activation therapy is a formal treatment for depression that emphasizes activity scheduling to encourage patients to approach activities they are avoiding. Unlike traditional cognitive therapy, it involves less cognitive therapy and is easier to train staff in its use. The therapy was introduced by Martell in 2001 and has two primary focuses: the use of avoided activities as a guide for activity scheduling and functional analysis of cognitive processes that involve avoidance.

Behavioural activation theory suggests that when people become depressed, many of their activities function as avoidance and escape from aversive thoughts, feelings, of external situations. As a result, someone with depression engages less frequently in pleasant of satisfying activities and obtains less positive reinforcement than someone without depression. To address this, the patient is encouraged to identify activities and problems that they avoid and to establish valued directions to be followed. These are set out on planned timetables (activity schedules).

In behavioural activation therapy, therapists do not engage in the content of the patient’s thinking. Instead, they use functional analysis to focus on the context and process of the individual’s response. The most common cognitive responses are rumination, fusion, and self-attack. A typical session has a structured agenda to review homework and progress towards goals, discuss feedback on the previous session, and focus on one of two specific issues. The number of sessions required to treat depression is typically between 12 and 24.

Multiculturalism is the coexistence of various cultural of ethnic groups within a shared social and political framework. Acculturation is the process of cultural and psychological change that occurs when different cultural groups come into contact with each other. Canadian psychologist John Berry identified four paths to acculturation: assimilation, integration, separation, and marginalization. Assimilation involves giving up one’s home culture and adopting the dominant culture, while integration involves maintaining one’s home culture while also embracing the dominant culture. Separation involves maintaining one’s home culture while being isolated from the dominant culture, and marginalization involves giving up one’s home culture and failing to related properly to the dominant culture. There is a cultural debate regarding assimilation and multiculturalism, with two forms of assimilation recognized: total assimilation, which involves the obliteration of the non-dominant culture, and melting pot assimilation, which refers to a less extreme version where a new form of the dominant culture emerges. Laissez-faire multiculturalism refers to multiculturalism that occurs without planning, such as the existence of Chinatowns in most cities.